Thursday, April 6, 2017

Local SEO Spam Tactics Are Working: How You Can Fight Back

For
years, I've been saying that if you have a problem with spammers in local
results, you can just wait it out. I mean, if Google cared about removing spam
and punishing those who are regular spammers we'd see them removed fast and
often, right?

While
there are instances where spam has been removed, it seems these are not fast
fixes, permanent fixes, or even very common. In fact, they seem few and far
between. So today I’m changing my tune a bit to call more attention to the spam
issues people employ that violate Google My Business terms and yet continue to
win in the SERPs.

The
problems are rampant and blatant. I've heard and seen many instances of
legitimate businesses changing their names just to rank better and faster for
their keywords.

Another
problem is that Google is shutting down
MapMaker at the end of March. Edits will still be allowed, but they'll need
to be made through Google Maps.

If
Google is serious about rewarding brands in local search, they need to
encourage it through their local
search algorithms.

For
some people, it’s gotten so bad that they’re actually suing Google. On January
13, 2017, for instance, a group of fourteen locksmiths sued Google, Yahoo, and
Bing over fake spam listings, as reported by Joy Hawkins.

While
some changes — like the Possum update — seemed to have a positive impact
overall, root problems (such as multiple business listings) and many other
issues still exist in the local search ecosystem.